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Breakfast : The Most Healthiest Meal Of The Day.

Avrio RebelloJune 12, 2018

Hi guys, If you haven't already been introduced to me, my name is Avrio and I am Co-Founder of Juicifix. Most of our blogs have been researched & written by me or my wife Tejomay Rastogi the other co-founder of Juicifix. Juicifix is our passion, through Juicifix we want to make a change, a healthy change.

Today, I blog about breakfast, the most important meal of the day, (this I speak from personal experience). If you don't already know I am a Goan, married to a 'pure vegetarian' Gujrati. So needless to say, I now eat meats only once in 15 Days.. Hopefully! Sometimes even once a month. Ill dwell more on this in another blog.

Back in Goa our staple diet includes fish & chicken, meat to be precise. So it isn't surprising for a Goan to grow up eating meats & eggs for breakfast. I have, all my life. However, for the last few years that I have been living in Mumbai with my wife, I have begun to realise how important it is to keep the first most important meal of the day as Healthy as possible. The first meal of the day structures your entire day, What you eat in the morning completely decides how effective and productive you are going to be for the rest of the day.

I have listed a few Healthy breakfast options you could choose from followed by a few Unhealthy breakfast options for you to think about.

List Of Healthy Breakfast Options

Rawa Upma

Suji Upma cooked with fresh vegetables, spices, lentils, aromatic nuts and curry leaves. An addition of grated coconut at the top makes it an impeccable morning meal. Upma is digested slowly and low on the glycemic index, so ideal for those who wish to lose weight or those who have blood sugar problems. It provides lots of energy, is very nutritious, and is a good source of fiber and carbs.

Oats Idli

A quick and easy to prepare nutritious breakfast option has similar taste and texture to its other also healthier counter part Idli made from steamed rice. However, is healthier as it contains oats in addition to rava and plain curd. Each idli contains just 39 calories, Idlis contain no fat, no saturated fat and no cholesterol.

Thepla

Thepla is a soft Indian Flatbread typical of Gujarati cuisine and especially popular among Jains. It is typically enjoyed as a breakfast. It is cooked using a combination of spices and flavour. It is mainly made of wheat flour, common kitchen masalas and fenugreek leaves. Theplas are healthy, filling and release energy slowly which is beneficial for health and performing daily tasks. They are also low in calories and saturated fats.

Poha

An easy to make dose of your much needed morning nutrition, heaped with subtle flavours. Pressed rice is cooked with some of your favourite veggies, spiced up and seasoned to perfection. Poha is lactose free, heart healthy and fat free. They are a good source of eleven vital minerals and vitamins including iron. Since Poha/Rice Flakes are gluten free, it can be consumed by those allergic to wheat products.

Eggs

Eggs are considered one of nature's most complete foods, filled with protein while free of carbs and sugar. ... When you're trying to eat healthy, eggs are an awesome go-to for breakfast. Nutritionally, eggs have a lot to offer. With about 70 calories in one large egg, they're a great source of protein that helps stabilize blood sugar levels and provides structure to the body. Egg protein is also high quality, providing all the essential amino acids.

However, I'd advice you to go easy on the oil if you are to fry your egg. A boiled egg should do you good.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a satisfying, healthy morning meal. It's a whole grain, It is high in soluble fiber, which may help to lower "bad" LDL cholesterol, and has a healthy amount of protein, both of which will help you feel satisfied till lunch. Add-ins make any oatmeal better-tasting, but they also make it more nutritious. Topping oatmeal with your favorite fruit boosts the fiber, and nuts offer healthy fats and make breakfast more filling, too.

However, If you are not careful to choose organic Oats, then this is no different from packaged cereal, full of artificial sugars and preservatives.

Moong Ka Chila

Whip up a batter made of stocked with moong dal, paneer and veggies inside. Moong Dal Chila is a healthier alternative. It is lighter and more nutritious in comparison to Besan ka Chila. Serve with fresh pudina chutney, and wash it down with a glass of buttermilk in the summer

Freshly Squeezed / Cold-Pressed Juice

Drinking a glass of freshly squeezed juice is not only refreshing and delicious, but provides numerous health benefits that often get lost in the processing that juices in jugs or cartons undergo. Drinking freshly squeezed juice can also be an efficient way to reach your recommended five to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. If you are going to make juice at home be sure to use a slow-pressed or a cold-pressed juicer. Or Call in For Your Regular Juicifix.

List Of Un-Healthy Breakfast Options

Medu Vada

A South Indian staple, Medu Vada is considered healthy as it has dal or lentils. Well, it is not. Black gram lentils are difficult for the body to break down and your body needs something easy to digest but healthy first thing in the morning, as it has been empty the whole night.

Plus, medu vadas are deep fried adding to the unhealthy quotient. There are 334 calories per medu vada plate.

Vada Pav

The Mumbaikar's lifeline. Honestly, there is nothing more unhealthy than piling on deep fried batata vada stuffed with potatoes and bread into your mouth and stomach. A single vada pav can have as many as 286 calories!

Toast Butter

The quick-fix breakfast dish. Not really an Indian dish but loved by every Indian the world over. However, your toast butter has little or no nutritional value. There's white bread which is processed wheat and butter which is packaged, and once again, full of extra salt, colour and preservatives.

Make up a healthy sandwich with multigrain bread, chutney, vegetables like onions, cucumbers, beetroot, tomatoes, lettuce or get creative and add random vegetables.

Puri Bhaji

While in some places the bhaji consists of potato chunks boiled and sauteed, in other places there is a mixed vegetable of sorts called kurma. Whatever the combo, the dish is extremely unhealthy. Puris are deep fried and potatoes are not the best vegetable to eat in the morning.

The English Breakfast

Contains: pancakes/waffles, sausages, toast and coffee. Waffles are made of processed wheat flour or maida which is extremely unhealthy. Also, fried sausages in the morning will only lead to cholesterol buildup among other things. The beans are not fresh and come out of a tin. Treating yourself once a while is fine but skip this on a daily basis. (Most Goan's and East Indian's should relate)

Maggi

Maggi, though the perfect comfort food, is one of the unhealthiest things you can eat. The fried noodles, the packaged spices, added flavours... There's nothing natural or healthy about Maggi.

Cereal

No matter what those cereal advertisements tell you about weight-loss, your packaged cereal is extremely unhealthy. Prepackaged and ready to eat breakfast cereals are sugared, high in salts, and have little or no nutritional value of the original grains they are made from. The cereals are only a mix of high fructose syrup and processed-till-the-nutrients-died corn. Having cereal is actually doing you a lot more harm than good.

Boil some corn and have it fresh, right out of your cooker. You can add some olive oil and salt to flavour it. If you don't have the time, just have some dry-fruits.

Processed Juice

Your 'real' fruit juices are not real. By the time the fruit juice is extracted from the fruits and then processed, the nutrients in the juices die. They are just coloured liquid. Also, the taste you get is not the original taste, as the process of extraction and purification pretty much destroys this. It is only added flavour. There's no real fibre, no nutrients. It's just like swallowing a glass full of sugar syrup.

Squeeze fresh juice at home. Or just run down and get some coconut water from your nearest vendor. Or order for a Cold-Pressed Juice.